Evenings Spent Near The Fireplace
by Thunder Of Friendship
Summary: Angeal hadn't seen Genesis in the longest time. It's been years since he's seen his friend. So far, the two of them relied on writing letters to each other, updating each other on their lives. When Angeal decides to make a surprise visit, however, he discovers a nice little surprise that he did not expect at all. Crisis Core AU Drabbles
1. Evenings Near The Fireplace

**Thunder: **Hello there! Long time no see! I was randomly trying to write an Essay for school, but this came out. I hope you like it. It's a scene from a FFVII Crisis Core AU I've been planning to write for over two years now. I still haven't written anything from it yet, but this just flowed out and I personally like it. I should be giving some story background to this AU, but I'm too lazy...

**Disclaimer:**I don't own Final Fantasy VII or any of the characters.

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><p><strong>Evenings in front of the Fireplace<strong>

An evening in this small town was almost always covered in snow. In fact, Modeoheim barely saw a few months of warmth before returning to its icy weather. Why his best friend chose to live in such a place, he'd never know. Angeal knew that Genesis hated the cold, simply despised it. The two of them both grew up in Banora, a wonderful town in the south, where there was almost no such thing as winter.

The last time he'd met Genesis was when the older male told him that he had an errand to take care of there, not that Angeal would know why there would be something concerning Genesis all the way up near the pole. Ever since then, he hadn't seen his best friend in years, relying mostly on letters that were frequently written and sent between the two. The fact that they were on opposite poles of Gaia made the wait seem even longer than what it really should. They weren't used to being separated like this, but the years forced them to adapt.

Thanksgiving had already passed, a day where families get together and have a generous serving of dinner. He'd spend this day with his mother, a simple levricon cooked and served on the table. Genesis would almost always join them when they were young. The young red-head loved to hang around Angeal's place, just playing about, and being annoying towards all the villagers.

Now it was his turn to visit his friend, it's been such a long time. Angeal longed to see his old friend again, to see how he's doing, what he's been up to. He wanted this visit to be a surprise, as much as Genesis hated those, so he had to ask around a little bit before somebody pointed him towards the desired house.

After two hours of shuffling around in this semi-snow blizzard, he was told that this was a fairly good day too in comparison, how did Genesis survive this? He finally stood before the antique-styled wooden door. Angeal smirked, he should have known. Genesis was Genesis, after all, whether if it's in the south or in the north.

_Knock-knock_

No answer.

_Knock-knock-knock_

Still nothing.

Angeal frowned. He knew his friend was probably not expecting anyone, or perhaps just taking his leisurely time to walk to the front door. He placed both hands on his haps and waited a bit more. The cold finally got the better of him and he decided to see if there was anyone in the house at all. He could see faint light coming from one of the side windows. If this was Genesis' house, then he shouldn't mind his best friend sneaking around from the back or just knocking on one of the windows, right?

As he neared the lighted window, the sound of music registered in his ears. This couldn't be the cold affecting his hearing, could it? Angeal knew that his best friend played the violin, but he'd honestly never heard him actually playing it, not even if he'd strain his ears in his bed room, where he could see the older boy practicing in his room.

So the sight he saw from the window when he finally peered in seemed almost surreal, almost as if it was taken out of a picture book, something akin to a fairy tale. There was Genesis, sitting on the backrest of an old armchair, with one foot resting on the cushion while the other seemed to almost dangle off of it, playing his violin with a soft smile on his lips. Genesis was _smiling_. Not just any smile either, no. It was the kind of smile he'd never seen from the brunette before, a smile his mother would give him whenever she was far too deep in the past, when she would see his father in his own actions. To see such a smile on Genesis' face…what had he missed in those years?

Looking and listening more closely, the violin wasn't the only instrument that was being played. The soft, quiet melody of a flute soon registered in his ears, played by, to his great surprise, a young, blonde child. _Genesis_ _Rhapsodos_ and a _child_. Angeal had to question his sanity by now. Perhaps the cold was getting to his brain, making him imagine things. Genesis _hated_ children, or at least, that was the well known fact when he'd last seen his friend.

Having enough of doubting himself, he finally knocked on the window, successfully gaining the attention of the room's two occupants. The music stopped abruptly, and Genesis looked up from his position, an expression of shock clear on his face before turning into one of delighted surprise. He quickly set his violin and bow aside, and motioned for his friend to meet him at the door. Angeal did just that.

The toothy grin on the duo's faces never left, even as the names were exclaimed, and hugs were exchanged. No formalities were needed between the two close friends. The evening was spent in loud chatter, with the young child, Cloud, drawing and colouring as he lay on the floor near the fireplace, where they all sat. Stories were told, and laughter resonated throughout the house's walls. It's been such a long time. The best thing about best friends is that they really didn't need to catch up. The conversations start and end as if they had just seen each other yesterday.

The highlight of Angeal's night was when Cloud finally stood up. The two adults instantly quieted down and watched the young child as he took painfully slow steps towards Genesis. The boy's gaze never left Angeal's, the look he gave him was as if he'd never seen another human being other than his 'father'. All the while, Angeal smiled at the kid, and watched him holding tightly to the piece of paper as he slowly passed him. Once Cloud had walked by his seat, however, he'd run happily to Genesis.

"Daddy, daddy look what I drew!" He'd exclaimed enthusiastically, a blinding grin on his young face. Angeal smiled at the cute display. Who would have guessed that Genesis, of all people, would end up fostering a child such as Cloud? The way the brunette talked to the child, how he laughed with him, how he'd smile, and lift him up onto his lap, it all seemed to surreal to the burly man, a picture from a children's story book. It was like a whole new side of Genesis was unfolding right in front of him, a side he'd never known, despite his long friendship with the man, but he was happy for them both all the same. This was their little evening spent in front of the fireplace.

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><p><strong>Thunder: <strong>I know it's short, but it's a drabble I guess. I hope you liked it!

Please Review! Constructive criticism is appreciated!


	2. Nightly Routine

**Thunder: **Hey everyone! Thank you SO MUCH for the wonderful reviews that you all left me! Honestly they made me feel so happy! I also felt extremely guilty because as fluffy and as cute as this AU seems, it's actually really, really sad. So until I work up the mood to write down all the drama, I think I'll make this where I'll write down all the fluffy drabbles that help keep me happy, and I hope they do the same to you too. Other Thoughts: I'm contemplating whether if I should go with this as a Gen/Ang ship, but I think it'll be a borderline romantic and more platonic. We'll see.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Final Fantasy VII or Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core

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><p>Cries. That's what woke him up in the middle of the night. Angeal woke up in his bed, mind still fogged up and confused from sleep, before he jolted up. <em>Cries? <em>Where and how? It seemed highly unlikely to the man, yet the sound was still there. It wasn't until he saw Genesis getting up and storming out of the room in a hurry that it finally registered in the man's head. _Cloud_.

Angeal sighed and swiftly got up and walked after his friend. That's right. Genesis and Cloud had come over to his house in order to spend the holidays, and it's only been two days now since they'd arrived. They had three weeks to spend with each other, but for Cloud? Well, the child had three weeks to get accustomed to the change. The burly man didn't know why, but this was the second night that the child woke up crying, and he gladly reminded himself that Zack was a heavy sleeper and nothing would wake that child up other than promptly throwing him off his bed, and even then it would be difficult.

He reached the doorway of the spare room that will from now on be Cloud's whenever the two would come to visit. The cries were muffled by now, but still there. He came in to see Genesis holding onto the child in his lap, softly stroking blond strands of hair as his lips moved silently, probably uttering soft murmurs and whispers to calm the kid down. Cloud himself had his arms wrapped tightly around Genesis' neck.

Angeal simply sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. His friend still hasn't told him the tale of how he came upon this child, nor did he tell him how the two became so attached to each other, but he'd wait. Angeal was a patient man, and he knew well to give Genesis his time, even though this has been going on for apparently a little more than three years.

Eventually though, the cries and sobs toned down to mere hiccups as blond-lashed eyelids came down over ocean blue eyes. Genesis had sighed as well, still rubbing the young one's back in soothing circles as he looked up to glance at him apologetically. Angeal merely smiled and shook his head, earning a similar smile from his friend. When was the last time that he'd seen his friend like this? It still baffled him, despite the amount of time he'd had to mull this over and get used to it in his head.

"Is he alright?" He asked when his auburn haired friend slowly walked up to him with Cloud fast asleep, but still sniffling, against his shoulder.

"Oh, he's fine." Genesis murmured so as not to wake up Cloud, fondly brushing away a few golden strands away from the child's face. "He gets scared when he's alone," He commented and gave Angeal a look that the other couldn't help but chuckle at. It was that very same expression Genesis would give him whenever he had his mind set to do something that his friend personally deemed as silly, but did it anyway. It was something he recognized instantly, and the raven-haired man didn't need to be told. He merely nodded before turning around and heading back to his bed with Genesis right behind him.

Soon enough, the three of them were laying down in bed, with Angeal's arm draped over Genesis' waist while the other held Cloud securely in his arms. No matter how Angeal looked at it, something must have happened to make those two as inseparable as they are now. Genesis definitely wasn't the type to easily form such bonds, and he was extremely happy for the both of them.

Now he knew he was supposed to wait, but next morning he'd have to swallow down some pride and try to pry some information out of his friend. He lay a soft kiss against the top of his friend's head before falling back to sleep.

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><p><strong>Thunder: <strong>It's short, but I hope you liked it.

**Please Review! Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated!**


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